Police fatally shoot man in Brooklyn who nearly crashed stolen car into officers: NYPD

Police said they shot and killed a Pennsylvania man in Brooklyn on Tuesday night after they caught him driving a stolen Porsche and he almost crashed into officers blocking his way.

According to NYPD Chief of Department John Chell, members of the department’s Community Response Team spotted the car with “suspicious plates” around 8 p.m. as they patrolled the Belt Parkway near Brighton Beach.

When officers ran the license plate through their system, they discovered the Porsche had been stolen from Pennsylvania, Chell told reporters at the scene after midnight Wednesday.

The officers tried to pull over the 28-year-old driver at Cropsey Avenue, Chell said, but he got off the parkway and sped back onto it eastbound. Instead of chasing the car, officers radioed to other police precincts, telling them the driver was headed in their direction, said Chell.

About five miles east of Cropsey Avenue, at Exit 13 for Rockaway Parkway in Canarsie, officers tried to intercept the car but were unsuccessful, according to the chief of department.

“This Porsche, at a high rate of speed, maneuvered onto the service road in [the] direction of several officers who set up a roadblock to stop this vehicle,” Chell said.

When the driver veered toward one of the officers and nearly hit him, the officer fired a single shot that struck the driver, said Chell. He added that the driver traveled another mile to the Pennsylvania Avenue exit in Starrett City before hitting another NYPD vehicle and stopping.

Officers started treating the driver for his injuries while they took the car’s passenger into custody, Chell said. First responders took the driver to Brookdale Hospital, where he died, according to the chief of department.

Police later identified the driver as Jumaane Wright of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Chell said Wright had been on federal probation for interstate transport of stolen vehicles from the state.

Police have not said who the passenger was, or announced charges against them.

Chell said the incident was captured on police body cameras, and some officers were taken to local hospitals but were not injured.

Wright was the fourth person whom NYPD officers have shot and killed so far this year, according to police data compiled by Gothamist.

Earlier this month, police fatally shot 60-year-old King Wong in Astoria after they said tasers failed to subdue him and he charged at officers with a knife. One of Wong’s neighbors told Gothamist he had lived with his elderly parents until they died, and had a history of unusual behavior. Police said he had two previous mental health-related interactions with officers, but did not provide specifics.

This is a developing story based on preliminary information from police and has been updated.